WFDB Asks Ernie Blom to Remain as President

RAPAPORT... Ernie Blom is poised to serve another two years as president of
the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), after Yoram Dvash turned down
the role.
“The executive of the WFDB at their meeting [in Germany in
March] asked me to stay for one more term,” Blom (pictured) told Rapaport News on
Wednesday. He first became president in 2006, and he has held the position at
various times since then.

However, a formal election of a president can only take place at a World Diamond Congress, Blom noted. Dvash, who is president of the Israel Diamond Exchange and
vice president of the WFDB, would have won the election had he run for office
at the congress in Israel in June, Blom explained. However, he
chose not to do so, preferring to focus on his role in Israel, Dvash said in a
Facebook post in March. In addition, that congress has since been postponed due to low registration.

Blom is planning to hold a meeting of the WFDB executive in the middle
of June to discuss rescheduling the event, he said.

Correction, May 17, 2018: This article has been amended to state that Ernie Blom can only be formally elected WFDB president at a World Diamond Congress. Therefore, his new term as president is not yet official.